Artificial hand for bowling



Nov. 10, 1970 R. L. BROWN 3,538,515

ARTIFICIAL HAND FOR BOWLING Filed Jan. 26, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR.

ROBE RT L. BROWN ATTORNEYS NOV. 10, 1970 BRQWN 3,538,515

ARTIFICIAL HAND FOR BOWLING Filed Jan. 26. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR.

ROBERT L. BROWN ATTORNEYS United States Patent 0 3,538,515 ARTIFICIALHAND FOR BOWLING Robert L. Brown, RR. 2, Berne, Ind. 46711 Filed Jan.26, 1968, Ser. No. 700,775 Int. Cl. A6lf 1/06 U.S. Cl. 312.8 4 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An artificial hand for bowling has twostationary fingers and an opposed movable thumb. Each of the fingers andthumb has the end provided with a ball tip which fits into a respectivehole in a bowling ball. The thumb is urged toward the fingers by atension spring having sufficient force to hold a bowling ball. The thumbmay be moved away from the fingers by a cable connected between thethumb and the opposite shoulder of the user to release the ball.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION My invention relates to an artificial hand,and particularly to an artificial hand for bowling.

Various artificial limbs, particularly artificial hands, have beenprovided for amputees. Such limbs and hands have been provided toperform a variety of functions, including bowling. However, as a bowler,I have found that available artificial hands for bowling wereunsatisfactory for a number of reasons such as the complex arrangementof the artificial hand, the difiiculty in controlling the artificialhand and the bowling ball, and the extensive modifications which had tobe made to the bowling ball. Therefore, I have invented an artificialhand in order to be able to bowl without these and other disadvantagesof previously known artificial hands.

An object of my invention is to provide a relatively simple artificialhand for bowling, thereby making it possible for many amputees to obtainsuch a hand and bowl.

Another object of my invention is to provide an artificial hand thateasily and accurately controls a bowling ball, thereby making it apleasure for amputees to bowl, and making it possible for amputees tobowl well.

Another object of my invention is to provide an artificial hand forbowling that requires only simple cups to be placed in conventionalholes in the bowling ball, thereby making it possible for amputees tomodify a conventional bowling ball for their own use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly, these and other objects are achievedin accordance with my invention by an artificial bowling hand having anextension that is adapted to be fastened to the forearm component of anartificial arm. Two fingers are fastened to the extension in a fixedposition. A thumb is fastened to the extension for pivoting with respectto the two fingers. Each of the fingers and thumb has a ball likeprojection at one end. A tension spring is connected between the thumband fingers to urge the thumb toward the fingers, and a cable isattached to the thumb for pulling the thumb against the spring tensionaway from the fingers. The cable may be operated by action of thebowlers opposite shoulder. Cups having flanged openings are inserted inholes in a bowling ball for receiving the ball-like projections on thethumb and fingers. With the 3,538,515 Patented Nov. 10, 1970 ball likeprojections positioned in the cups, the spring tension is sufficient tohold the fingers and thumb in the cup and enable a bowler to pick up abowling ball. The bowling ball can be accurately and precisely releasedat the desired time, such as in the ball delivery or swing, by the cablebeing pulled to move the thumb away from the fingers to allow theball-like projections to clear the flanges around the openings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The subject matter which I regard as myinvention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in theclaims. The structure and operation of my invention, together withfurther objects and advantages, may be better understood from thefollowing description given in connection with the accompanying drawing,in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a bowler having an artificial armwhich is fitted with my artificial hand for bowling;

FIG. 2 shows a side view, partly in cross section, of my artificial handholding a bowling ball;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of my artificial hand;

FIG. 4 shows a plan view of my artificial hand looking towards thefingers from the lines 44 in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 shows a cross sectional view of the pivot for the thumb of myartificial hand, the cross sectional view being taken along the lines 55in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With refeience to FIGS. 2through 5, as well as FIG.

1, my artificial hand 12 comprises an extension 15 made of a suitablecylindrical rod of metal or other material. One end of the extension 15is provided with threads 16 which are of the pro er configuration to bemounted on the forearm component 10. The other end of the extension 15is also provided with threads 17 for attachment to my artificial hand12. The threads 17 are adapted to thread into a threaded opening or holein a base 19 which is also made of a suitable material such as metal.The base 19 has a longitudinal axis 32 which is generally transverse tothe longitudinal axis 18 of the extension 15. When the threads 17 of theextension 15 have been positioned at the desired location, the threads17 may be held against turning by a lock nut 20. Two substantiallysimilar fingers 22, 24 of suitable material such as metal are securelyfastened to or are an integral part of the base 19. These fingers have agenerally curved shape, which curves away from and then back toward theaxis 18 of the extension 15 as viewed in FIG. 3. Ball-like projections26, 28, such as ball bearings, are fastened to the ends of the fingers22, 24. As illustrated, the ball-like projections 26, 28 preferably havea larger diameter than the transverse dimension of the fingers 22, 24for reasons that will be y explained.

A thumb 30 is provided of suitable material such as metal. In a closedposition, the thumb 30 extends generally parallel to the axis 18 of theextension and then curves toward the fingers 22, 24. The thumb issecurely attached to or an integral part of a metal thumb yoke 31 whichis attached to the base 19 for pivoting about the axis 32 of the base19. The thumb 30 is pivotally attached by means of two shoulder bolts 34which have cylindrical shoulders 35 positioned in two circular openingsin the two arms of the thumb yoke 31, and which have threads that arethreaded into the base 19. When 7 the shoulder bolts 34 are threadedinto the base 19, the inner faces of the shoulders 35 engage the endfaces of the base 19 and serve to lock the shoulder bolts 34 inposition. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the two arms 31 and the ends of thebase 19 are dimensioned to provide the proper clearance between theinner faces of the arms of the yoke 31 and the end faces of the base 19,thereby permitting the thumb 30 to pivot freely. The end of the thumb 30is also provided with a ball-like projection 36,

such as a ball bearing having a larger diameter than the transversedimension of the thumb 30.

The thumb 30 is urged toward the fingers 22, 24 by a tension spring 40suitably attached to a projection 41 on the thumb 30 and to a projection42 on the base 19. The

tension of the spring 40 is designed so that it urges the thumb 30toward the fingers 22, 24 with sutficient force to hold the weight of abowling ball such as the ball 13 illustrated in FIG. 2. The thumb 30 maybe pulled away from the fingers 22, 24 against the tension of the spring40 by a control cable 45 attached to a suitable projection 1 46 on thethumb 30. With respect to FIG. 1, the cable 45 extends upward from theprojection 46 along the forearm component 10, along the right arm of thebowler, and is attached to a suitable shoulder strap or harness on theleft shoulder of the bowler. As is known to amputees, i

proper maneuvering of the shoulder can pull or release the cable 45.When the cable 45 is pulled, it pulls the thumb 30 away from the fingers22, 24. When the cable 45 is released, it permits the tension spring 40to pull the thumb 30 toward the fingers 22, 24.

With reference to FIG. 2, I have shown my artificial hand 12 in engagingrelation with the bowling ball .13. The bowling 13 is provided withthree cylindrical holes which may be drilled into the ball 13 inconventional fashion and in a configuration to fit the configuration ofthe fingers 22, 24 and thumb 30. A hole 50 is shown in FIG. 2 for thethumb 30 and a hole 51 is shown in FIG. 2 for the finger 22. The hole(not visible) for the other finger 24 would be behind the hole 51 asviewed in FIG. 2.

Each of the holes is provided with a hollow cylindrical cup 54 havingsides which fit the sides of the respective holes and having a closedbottom. The top of the cup 54 is provided with a circular opening 56having a diameter smaller than the cup diameter to provide a flange 57.

The cups 54 are secured in their respective holes by any suitable means,such as the screws 59.

With the bowling ball 13 provided with holes 50 and 51, and cups 54 asshown in FIG. 2, my artificial hand 12 may be utilized to pick up thebowling ball 13 by placing the thumb 30 and the fingers 22, 24 at theappropriate holes in the bowling ball 13. This is done by the bowlerproviding a slight pull on the cable 45 so as to move the thumb 30 awayfrom the fingers 22, 24. Then, the balllike projections 26, 28, 36 ofthe fingers 22, 24 and the thumb 30 are placed in the cups 54 beneaththe flanges 57. The bowler then releases the cable 45 so that the spring40 pulls the thumb 30 toward the fingers 22, 24. As the fingers 22, 24and thumb 30 move together, the ball-like projections 26, 28, 36 pressagainst the inner flanges 57 and walls of the cups 54 as illustrated inFIG. 2 to firmly and securely hold the bowling ball 13. The bowler canthen pick up the ball 13, and start his swing or delivery. My artificialhand 12 securely holds the ball 13 in spite of the added force resultingfrom the ball 13 moving in an arc during the swing or delivery. As theball comes forward, proper action of the bowlers left shoulder providestension on the cable 45 to pull the thumb 30 away from the fingers 22,24. This permits the ball 13 to be cleanly released, since the ball-likeprojections 26, 28, 36 can now clear the flanges 57 and release the ball13. It will thus be seen that my artificial hand 12 is a relativelysimple device which requires relatively few parts, but which iseffective in permitting an amputee to bowl in almost the same fashion asa normal person. In fact, I have found that my artificial hand 12 givesa consistent and desirable release, with the result that my bowling isconsistent and good.

While I have shown only one embodiment of my artificial hand 12, personsskilled in the art will appreciate that modifications may be made.First, my artificial hand 12 may be used on a forearm component 10 oneither arm of. a bowler, so that one artificial hand can be used foreither left or right handed bowlers. In addition, the extension 15 mayhave other configurations and shapes. The fingers 22, 24 and the thumb30 may have somewhat different configurations from that shown in thedrawing. However, it is desirable that the fingers 22, 24 and the thumb30 have an opposing action and that their ends converge toward eachother. The ball-like projections may be replaced by other projections ofdifferent shapes or configurations. However, I prefer the ball-likeprojections since conventional ball bearings serve to provide thenecessary projection and fit into a circular opening such as the opening56 in the cups 54. The thumb 30 may be pivoted in other fashions, as bya single piece which pivots between two opposing faces on the base 19rather than by being mounted on a yoke 31 with two arms at the ends ofthe base 19. The points of attachment for the spring 40 may also bemoved as long as the desired holding force and clearance of the bowlingball are provided. And, the projection 46 for the cable 45 may also havedifferent locations and configurations.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. An artificial hand for an amputee for bowling, comprising:

(a) an extension having a longitudinal axis and being adapted to beattached to the arm of an amputee;

(b) a base attached to said extension;

(0) a pair of substantially similar fingers rigidly attached to saidbase in a fixed immovable position, each of said fingers extending fromsaid base in a first curve away from said longitudinal axis andcontinuing in a second curve back toward said longitudinal axis so as toterminate in a free end, and each of said fingers having a projection atthe free end thereof for fitting in a flanged opening in a bowling ball;

(d) a thumb pivotally attached to said base for pivoting about a pivotaxis that is substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal axis, saidthumb extending from said base generally parallel to said longitudinalaxis and continuing in a curve toward said fingers when in a closedposition so that the terminal of said thumb is in opposed relation tothe ends of said fingers, said thumb having a projection at the endthereof for fitting in a flanged opening in a bowling ball;

(e) a tension spring attached at one end to said fingers and attached atthe other end to said thumb for urg ing said thumb to pivot about saidpivot axis toward said fingers to hold a bowling ball;

(f) and means for fastening a cable to said thumb for an amputee to pullsaid cable and move said thumb away from said fingers to release abowling ball.

2. The artificial hand of claim 1 wherein said fingers and thumb areformed of cylindrical rod.

3. The artificial hand of claim 1 wherein each of said projections is aball having a diameter that is larger than the transverse dimension ofits respective finger 0r thumb.

5 4. The artificial hand of claim 2 wherein each of said projections isa ball having a diameter that is larger than a FOREIGN PATENTS 195,7514/1923 Great Britain.

the diameter of its respective cylindrical rod.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 5 R. L. FRINKS, Assistant Examiner Caron 312.8 US. Cl. X.R.Knobel 312.4 312.4; 27364 Baehr 3l2.8

Zander 312.8 l0

